Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a sad occasion and I agree entirely with Barry Andrews's assessment of the UN's inability to confront and manage the situation, and to respond in a meaningful way to what is, without a doubt, the greatest crisis since the Second World War and one which will continue. The sad part is that neither the global community nor the European Union seems to be able to speak with one voice on this issue. There are mixed messages coming from them. The vision of children and adults crawling under razor wire to escape from something is a vivid image that will stick with many people. When historians come to write about this in the future, they will write about it in a critical way. History tells us that in the past those who warned of things to come were not listened to. What Barry Andrews has said to the committee is very real and we should take it into account. Not only should we take it into account in Ireland but the European Union and the UN should listen carefully to what has been said. Peter Sutherland has made similar comments about the same issue in recent times.

I do not understand why the UN has not established positions to support the camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, to show what it can do. The authorities there will accept that support. I do not understand why the UN has not done it. It is fine to appeal for aid and to do good. When people do good everyone supports it but when people do evil, and in the course of it create further evil, nobody seems to be able to stand up and confront it in a meaningful way.

I have already referred to mixed messages coming from other European countries. I do not understand why countries have such a short memory. Things that have happened before invariably happen again; history repeats itself all the time. What I worry about most of all is the unfortunate people who are forced into boats, who are drowning on the shores with their children, who are being shot, harassed and faced with razor wire, baton charges and CS gas and all the other things, will remember in the future how they were treated when they were vulnerable. The UN stands challenged now and has to account for itself. So too does the European Union.

There are lessons to be learnt. Interfering with sovereign states in the future should be a no-go area regardless of what evidence exists. The lid has been lifted off a situation that will trundle on unless there is a positive intervention of a serious nature.

I spoke on this subject at the security and defence meeting in Luxembourg a couple of weeks ago which was attended by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Mogherini. I cannot understand the reason the traffickers have been allowed to drive the situation and are in control. They are feeding into what is happening. The rest of the EU is trying to respond. It would have been simple to establish bridgeheads in the various locations to administer to the refugees, setting out a safe haven for the refugees before they would come across Europe. That would eliminate the need for razor wire and the treatment of refugees in that way. High Representative Ms Mogherini did not agree with my views, but my honest opinion is that the European Union has failed. As time goes by I think the resentment will grow, the humanitarian extent of the problem will grow and the disaster will grow. I cannot understand the reason the European Union and the United Nations cannot come together and do the sensible thing and take control of the situation.